How to Get to Sochi and Around: Sochi Airport (AER), Central Station and Lastochka Trains

Because Greater Sochi is wedged into a narrow corridor between the Black Sea and the Western Caucasus Mountains, the coastal railway line and the combined Adler to Krasnaya Polyana highway and rail link form the lifeline of local and regional transport. Mastering the electric Lastochka commuter trains lets you move effortlessly between the airport, historic central Sochi, the Olympic Park in Sirius, and the alpine resorts of Rosa Khutor without sitting in highway traffic.

Arriving by Air: Sochi International Airport (AER)

Located in the Adler District roughly 28 kilometres southeast of central Sochi and 40 kilometres west of Krasnaya Polyana, Sochi International Airport (IATA: AER) is the primary aviation hub for Russia's Black Sea coast and one of the five busiest airports in the country. Originally built between 8 July and 1 September 1941 on the grounds of the former Chernomorets seed farm and established for civil aviation on 23 November 1945 (with its historic 1956 terminal still preserving an open inner Italian courtyard), the modern terminal complex opened ahead of the 2014 Winter Games with telescoping jet bridges, an indoor landscaped courtyard, and an integrated multi-level railway station.

• Airport to Central Sochi, Sirius and Rosa Khutor: Covered walkways connect the arrivals hall directly to the Airport Sochi railway platform for Lastochka trains to Adler, Khosta, Matsesta, and Central Sochi. Outside the terminal, municipal buses (check current route numbers on arrival) run northwest via Adler and Khosta to Central Sochi and northeast up the Mzymta Valley to Esto-Sadok and Rosa Khutor, while other routes connect the airport with Sirius and the Olympic Park.

Central Sochi Railway Station (56 Gorkogo Street)

Situated in the heart of Tsentralny District at the top of pedestrian Navaginskaya Street, Sochi Railway Station is a federal architectural monument designed by renowned Soviet metro and rail architect Alexey Nikolayevich Dushkin (who simultaneously built its twin station in Simferopol in 1951). Built between 13 September 1950 and 10 September 1952 on the site of earlier 1923 and 1939 stations, the three-storey Stalinist Empire building measures 145 metres long, 30 to 50 metres wide, and rises 55 metres from ground level to the spire star atop its freestanding tower.

Look closely at the five-metre-diameter zodiac clock on the tower: instead of the standard zodiac sequence, Dushkin replaced Aquarius, Taurus, and Scorpio with the constellations Canes Venatici (Hunting Dogs), Cygnus (Swan), and Serpens (Serpent), leaving only Leo, Virgo, and Libra in their traditional positions. Inside, three open-air arcaded courtyards surround gardens and the fountain sculpture Girl with a Jug.

Adler Railway Station and Lastochka Commuter Routes

Opened on 28 October 2013 to designs by NPO Mostovik and Berlin architectural firm gmp, the new Adler Railway Station features a 150-by-60-metre concourse elevated 10 metres above the tracks with a sea-facing terrace and rooftop solar collectors. From Central Sochi and Adler, high-speed electric Lastochka (ES1/ES2G) trains operate along three key branches: northwest to Dagomys, Loo, Lazarevskaya, and Tuapse; south to Imeretinsky Kurort (Olympic Park) in Sirius; and inland through the tunnels along the Mzymta River to Estonskaya (Esto-Sadok) and Rosa Khutor.